- The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC), a public/private partnership chartered with developing the manufacturing equipment and materials supply chain needed for next-generation flat panel displays (FPDs), today announced it has awarded an R&D contract to Dow Corning Corporation (Midland, Mich.), a global leader in silicon-based technology for performance-enhancing solutions. This marks one of many current and planned USDC-funded R&D projects designed to strengthen the organic light emitting diode (OLED) manufacturing supply chain and to bring flexible displays to market realization. The USDC's contract award to Dow Corning will focus on the development of high-performance, barrier-layer materials to provide environmental protection for OLEDs fabricated on glass and plastic substrates.
OLEDs will enable the production of rugged, super-thin and lightweight high-resolution displays with a wider viewing angle and quicker response times-giving it a competitive market advantage over liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and other FPD technologies. One of the most critical technology hurdles in the manufacture of OLEDs, however, is the creation of effective, high-performance barrier layer materials. This has posed a significant challenge to manufacturers due to the complex property requirements that must be addressed, such as mechanical integrity and flexibility, stability, chemical resistance, optical compatibility, adhesion strength and a defect-free structure to resist permeation of water and oxygen. Dow Corning's development offers the potential for a simpler solution, rather than a multi-layer structure, which could potentially reduce the cost, if the stringent performance requirements can be met.
According to Dr. M. Robert Pinnel, chief technical officer for the USDC, the consortium is aggressively committed to funding R&D projects with companies that hold the promise to enable the development of next-generation FPD technologies. "The initial objective is encapsulation technology for glass-based OLEDs, eventually leading to both a barrier layer and an encapsulation material for flexible displays," said the USDC CTO.
The materials to be developed by Dow Corning, which leverages prior art on silicon carbon alloy films for the IC industry, can be employed in two ways for flexible OLEDs. First, it can be applied as a film on the substrate upon which the display is manufactured in such a way as to make plastic substrates as effective for environmental protection as glass substrates-with the added benefit of flexibility. A barrier layer material must be able to protect the plastic film from ingress of water and oxygen to avoid destroying the OLED material, which is extremely sensitive to these two elements. Second, it can be applied as a monolithic encapsulating protective layer onto the final assembled OLED display-replacing the bulky glass or metal can covers typically used for protection. For this application, however, uniform film deposition over an irregular surface topography is required.
"We are pleased to be working with the USDC to develop a barrier layer materials that will provide an affordable, reliable solution that holds the potential to enable commercialization of plastic OLEDs," noted Gregg Zank, Dow Corning's director of New Ventures R&D.
The USDC program is a public/private partnership between the U.S. Army Research Lab (ARL) and industry. "Research and technological innovation are the engines of military transformation. New flat panel display systems will improve the capabilities of our soldiers. The development of new display technologies will enable a variety of new applications for military use and create new commercial opportunities as well. I am pleased to see that Dow Corning is playing a key role in developing these technologies," stated Senator Carl Levin (D - MI).
Representative Dave Camp (R - MI/4) said, "Having represented Midland since 1991, I am always impressed with Dow Corning's achievements and capabilities. This contract will be key in making possible and practical a new generation of revolutionary flexible displays, and places the company at the leading edge of display technology development. My congratulations go to the company and its employees on this win."
USDC will fund 40 percent, or $1.6 million, of the $4-million project, with the remainder provided by Dow Corning. This is the second materials-related R&D contract to be awarded by USDC to Dow Corning in the last three years. Under the earlier contract, the company has been chartered with developing inorganic planarization materials and application processes that enable inert planarization layers to be placed in display material stacks. This is critical, as current planarization materials are organic, and thereby, have the potential to be reactive when exposed to other materials, such as those used in OLEDs.
Today's announcement follows on several other recent USDC contracts needed to bring flexible displays to market, including CHA Industries (web-coating deposition tool); Kurt J. Lesker Company (linear organic materials deposition source module); and Azores Corporation (web-based lithography tool).
For more information, please contact:
US Display Consortium
Heidi Hoffman
84 W. Santa Clara Street, Ste. 790
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 993-8111
heidi@usdc.org
About the U.S. Display Consortium
The U.S. Display Consortium is an industry-led public/private partnership providing a common platform for flat panel display and flexible microelectronics manufacturers and developers, FPD users, and the supplier base. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the consortium’s primary mission is to fund supply-chain projects and share the results with USDC member companies. The USDC also provides a communication channel among industry, government and the financial communities for display issues; sponsors workshops to broaden the impact of technological developments; and educates consumers on the importance of displays in providing access to information technology. More information about the USDC can be found at www.usdc.org
About Dow Corning
Dow Corning (www.dowcorning.com) develops, manufactures and markets
diverse silicon-based products and services, and currently offers more than 7,000 products to more than 25,000 customers around the
world. Dow Corning is a global leader in silicon-based materials with shares equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning
Inc. More than half of Dow Corning's $2.7 billion in annual sales are outside the United States.
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